DataPro buys @lantic
The acquisition is viewed as somewhat of a bargain since according to James Herbst, financial director for Datapro, “the company has received irrevocable commitments for 133 million shares. With only 71 million available, the placement has been significantly oversubscribed.”
News of this kind is always good as according to Herbst it means that Datapro could essentially sell 58% of the existing company today for 52.7 cents providing strong evidence of the liquidity of Datapro stock.
This acquisition from Datapro has not only potentially boosted the liquidity of the company but it also causing a stir in the ISP market stated Herbst.
“What we have done, we believe, is cause something of a stir in the tightly watched ISP market, which is currently going through a consolidation and land-grab phase – where players are looking to gain ground by the acquisition of customers,” said Herbst.
Datapro’s core-focus has traditionally been in the corporate market. This new acquisition will not shift the ISP’s focus but is rather aimed and providing more competition in the highly restrictive South African telecommunications market.
Douglas Reed, CEO of Datapro, says: ”[Datapro] made a strategic decision in September last year, that it would build the business across the telecommunications space to become a fully fledged competitor to the current voice encumbent.”
The aim is for Datapro to focus on telecommunications in a broader sense stated Reed.
With the South African telecommunications industry so heavily dominated by Telkom acquisitions and mergers of this nature is a welcomed counter balance to the current monopoly.
The recent Department of Communications colloquium identified increased competition in the telecommunications sector as a crucial factor for the growth of the industry and the economy as a whole.
Whilst Datapro’s latest acquisition lends weight to their position with Telkom holding all the aces, that is fixed-line infrastructure, it is difficult for any major player in this industry to be truly competitive.
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